In a May 26 New York Times column, “The Southern Baptist Moral Meltdown,” conservative commentator David Brooks wrote: “They dedicated their lives to a gospel that says that every human being is made in the image of God. They dedicated…
Mass shootings, DNA swabs and gospel triage: America 2022
Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my Lord burn hot; you know the people, that they…
White supremacy and firearm idolatry: America’s Baal
“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD (be) God, follow him: but if Baal, (then) follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” — 1 Kings…
‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning
An intelligent foreigner, making his observations at Washington at this time, would be puzzled to determine whether the Americans had a Government, or not. There are the names: The Executive, the Congress, the Judiciary; but what is the executive question,…
A ‘Christian’ nation beset by false witness
It’s in the Bible. In fact, it’s one of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (See Exodus 20:16.) There’s more: Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self…
Untamed: The meaning of Jesus in these odd times finale
“We don’t live in Ukraine, but we do,” said our minister, Glenn Pettiford, as he began a pastoral prayer on a recent Lenten Sunday morning. His words have stayed in my head on the way to Gethsemane and Golgotha 2022,…
‘On a scale of 1 to 10’: Lindsey Graham meets John the Baptist
During Senate hearings on Appeals Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., raised this faith-based inquiry: “I’m just asking this question because how important is your faith to you? On a scale…
The meaning of Jesus in these odd times, part 3
In the season of Lent 2022, our world is at war. No, it’s not World War III. Not yet. But if you think the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has no worldwide implications, you’ve not stopped at the gas pump lately. Last January…
Trayvon and Ahmaud: If schools can’t tell their stories, churches must
“I recall a Sunday morning in the spring of 1968 when the pastor of the Southern Baptist Convention-related church in Mesquite, Texas, where I was youth minister, offered his sermonic response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It…